Report still pending on use of city property

Chula Vista 
Three weeks after city attorneys said they were investigating allegations that employees used city property – a phone line and a building – to campaign for a sales tax ballot measure, no report has been written.

Last month, residents complained that they received phone calls from city workers promoting Proposition A, the proposed Chula Vista sales tax rate increase. They said caller ID showed that the calls were coming from a city phone line.

The state's government code prohibits the use of public resources, such as office equipment or staff time, for campaigning. Possible penalties range from fines to jail time.

City Attorney Bart Miesfeld was expected to provide a report on whether there was any wrongdoing, but it took longer than anticipated to set up interviews with three union representatives, Assistant City Attorney Mike Shirey said. The employees who made the calls were union members using a city phone line in a city building.

“There is still nothing to report,” Shirey said.

He said he completed the interviews, but still must discuss the case with Miesfeld, who has been out of the office for two weeks.

The city is asking voters to raise the sales tax rate by 1 percentage point, to 9.75 percent. City officials say they need the additional income – an estimated $20 million a year – to operate services and programs.

Mail ballots went out to city voters this month and are due by May 5, which means they need to be in the mail in about a week at the latest.

Councilman John McCann is opposed to the tax increase and previously said he was concerned about misusing public funds. Reached yesterday, he was hesitant to speak out about how long the investigation is taking.

“My focus has been on the city budget and defeating the sales tax (increase),” McCann said. “It's really in the city attorney's hands now.”

Others say the city is stalling.

“It's a situation where it's conveniently being delayed to where the memo will be released when it's moot because the election will have been concluded,” said Lani Lutar of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.

“Every day, people have the opportunity to submit their vote by mail,” she said. “The city recognizes that a memo that might reflect negatively on the proponents.”

When officials got complaints about employees using city property to promote the sales tax increase last month, the Chula Vista Employees Association reimbursed the city $138 for using its phone lines. At the time, McCann said the fact that the union reimbursed the city shows there was wrongdoing.